Thursday, March 7, 2019

Seventh Circuit Deflates Scabby the Rat's Ego and What It Means for Employers This image will be familiar to most readers. But last month the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit put Scabby back in its rat hole. In Constr. & Gen. Laborers' Union 330 v. Town of Grand Chute, No. 18-1739 (7th Cir. Feb. 14, 2019), the appellate court held that a Grand Chute, Wisconsin zoning ordinance banning all private signs on public rights-of-way permitted town officials to order Local 330 of the Construction and General Laborers' Union to deflate the labor icon without violating the union's First Amendment rights. This ruling creates a glimmer of hope for employers in what has otherwise been a frustrating and ineffective battle to curb an annoying union tactic. More

SCOTUS Denies Cert to In-N-Out Burger: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a ruling that required In-N-Out Burger, a popular fast-food restaurant chain in California and the southwest, to allow its employees to wear pins supporting Fight for $15. The fast food chain petitioned the high court to overturn a July Fifth Circuit ruling that found the company violated the National Labor Relations Act when a manager told employees they couldn't wear the buttons because they weren't part of their uniform. Counsel for In-N-Out argued (unsuccessfully) that the buttons compelled the burger chain "to endorse or subsidize messages with which they do not agree," and that this violated the precedent set in last year's Janus v. AFSCME decision. Fight for $15 said in a statement that the court's decision is a "victory for workers" and "affirms that no company can just unilaterally decide to take away our right to speak out and join together in a union."